The Coast Is Always Changing
by calliecampesinos
Summary: A story showing what could have happened if Mark and Lex never split up, and if Sloan didn't leave. Named, characteristically, after a song by Maximo Park . This is my first try at anything like this, rated M to cover myself for any suggestiveness.
1. Chapter 1

There was nothing like a lie-in. The one thing the Lexie always looked forward to, afterall, it was rare she got to sleep past 5:30 am since starting her residency. She loved being a surgeon, and would never change it, but she could never cast doubt over her love of a few more hours in bed, a few more hours entwined in Mark's arms. She felt safe, loved, with the sun beginning to cast its rays through the blinds, it was perfection. Or at least it was, until the usual alarm began.

"Grandad! Grandad! Wake up, wake UP!"

With the final "up", Joey put all of his effort into jumping as hard as possible on the mattress, his childish laughter filling the air, his feet getting closer and closer to Lexie. It was only a matter of moments before somebody ended up hurt.

"Oww…" Lexie cursed under her breath. She loved little Joey, really did, but this daily routine was just not acceptable anymore. Her legs were black and blue, made even more noticeable by her pale complexion. Last weekend, at her sister's barbeque, comments had been made by Cristina. Lexie knew her old resident could be harsh, but what she insinuated was just disgusting. Mark would never, could never, do such a thing. Just one look at him in this moment could show anyone that. He was at the end of the bed, lifting Joey onto his back, giving him a piggy-back into the kitchen to make superhero pancakes. Lexie couldn't help but smile to herself.

Who would have thought that this arrangement could have worked? Sloan had been so reluctant to let Lexie, Mark, Callie and Arizona all care for little Joey, poor Mark's heart was broken when she announced that she wanted to give him up for adoption. Noone knew what had changed Sloan's mind, but Lexie had a sneaking suspicion that seeing Mark hold Joey for the first time hadn't only melted her own heart.

After showering and dressing, Lexie saw another of Mark and Joey's heart-warming scenes. It was so nice to see them together, like father and son, sat at the breakfast table, having an in-depth conversation about football. Mark was using the salt and pepper mills to teach Joey some rule or another, and despite not having a clue what their conversation was about, she couldn't help but sit with them and act interested. They seemed so much like a… well, a family. Something Lexie never thought she'd see again after her mother died.

"Hey, Auntie Lex, are you coming to play football with me and granddad today?" Joey's eyes seemed to glimmer as he spoke, an infectious smile spreading across both his and Mark's face as she shook her head in response.

"It's too muddy for me. Besides, I need to pick up a few things from the store."

"The store?" Mark frowned, trying desperately to remember if he'd forgotten any important dates. His Blackberry hadn't shown anything on the calendar, but then again, he'd still managed to miss Lexie's birthday despite having automatic reminders. Mark was so bad with dates that he forgot them before he got time to put them in the calendar. It was lucky for him that Joey had remembered, making Lexie a big card from both him and Mark. He was such a sweet kid sometimes.

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing. Just a new suitcase, I needed one anyway. Though you did remember to do what I asked?" Lexie paused, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. When the blank look continued to dominate his face, Lexie's tone hardened, "Mark, it was the one thing I asked you. Is it seriously too hard for you to ask someone if they can have Joey stay tomorrow?"

Mark rolled his eyes behind Lexie's back, as she turned to get the calendar to show him her request. As she fumbled around, Mark's eyes lit up. Winking at Joey and putting a finger to his lips to signal to him to stay quiet, he exited the apartment, re-entering before Lexie had even noticed he had gone. She turned, just as he sat back down, shoving the calendar in his face.

"See. It's hardly a big effort to look at the calendar once in a while, Mark."

Mark's lips twisted into a smile, one that began to infuriate Lexie, until she was turning a rather dark shade of red, unusual for a woman with her pale complexion. Mark couldn't help but laugh; Joey had more sense and excused himself from the table before laughing too at his Auntie Lexie.

"Don't you dare laugh at me Mark Sloan!"

Mark allowed her a few minutes more ranting time; after all, he did still have his cappuccino to finish. It was at the perfect temperature, just right to drink and still taste amazing, and most importantly, be bone dry. He set his cup down and smiled at Lexie, causing her to pause mid-rant, surrounded by confusion.

"If it's ok love, I'd like you to pass me a pen."

Lexie scanned the table. There was no sign of the newspaper anywhere. No newspaper means no crossword. Why else would he want a pen? Still, the look on his face was one full of amusement, so she obliged, handing the blue ballpoint to him. He scribbled something on the calendar, handing both that and the pen back to Lexie. A grin was spread across his face as Lexie looked at the calendar, ready to read it.

_Weekend in NY - Joey at Callie's_

It took Lexie a few times reading what Mark had scribbled before her face, contorted with frustration, relaxed. She couldn't help but smile as she put the calendar down and moved to sit herself on Mark's lap, kissing him softly.

"EWW!" They hadn't heard Joey enter the room. Lexie pulled away from Mark, and turned to face Joey. She couldn't help but laugh at the half-disgusted, half-shocked look on his face, the kind of innocent look only a five year old could get away with. And as much as she loved this five year old, Lexie wouldn't miss those interruptions on her weekend away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's taken me a while to update, and it's not a long one. I've been stuck in hospital for two weeks, so it might not be amazing, given all the medications I'm on… :/ I promise to not write after 3 types of painkillers again though.**

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"Oh Auntie Callie, where's Auntie Zona? Auntie Callie, why do you not have the Disney channel? Auntie Callie, can we go to the movies? Auntie Callie, I need the restroom!"

Joey was running around like, so to speak, a headless chicken. Round and round, he just would not stop, and Callie was beginning to get tired just watching him from the table, where she sat with Lexie, talking over a coffee. Though Lexie was giving her a list of perfectly reasonable rules, Callie couldn't comprehend how on earth she could even get Joey to slow down a little, never mind obey her. When Callie had agreed to help look after Mark's grandson, she'd expected the cute moments she saw around the hospital -the cuddles and kisses and drawings to be held on the fridge. Instead she'd gotten a weekend to herself with a hyperactive five year old boy, who was currently jumping all over her couch, leaving a trail of dry mud. Lovely.

Lexie apparently hadn't noticed up until now what a chaos Joey had been causing. It was just typical that she chose the moment before she was leaving to notice. However, Callie couldn't help but be grateful that she noticed at all. While Lexie ran through the rules once more with Joey, threatening various toys to be taken from him for any bad behaviour, Callie poured herself another coffee. Arizona was going to working most of this weekend, so it looked like at least another three coffees were going to be needed today alone.

Shutting the door to Callie's apartment, Lexie felt a large pang of guilt hit her. She'd always remembered how much she hated the feeling of being left behind when her father had whisked her mother away for her fortieth birthday. She was doing the same to Joey, and not even for a special occasion. What a bad grandmother / parent / carer (she never knew what she was to Joey, except maybe a springboard in the mornings…) she must be. But still Mark had booked this for her, she couldn't bail. That'd make her a very bad fiancée.

Just as she began to fiddle with her keys, searching for the right one out of a half dozen, the door opened, and a suitcase was wheeled out by Mark. A suitcase Lexie hadn't yet packed. The mixture of confusion and annoyance on Lexie's face was one the couple would look back and laugh about, however, in that moment, Lexie wanted answers.

"What's that?"

Mark couldn't help but smile, giving Lexie no choice but to hit him on his arm, not hard, but enough to show him the importance of having the right outfits packed. He took it to be a joke, which was good, because offending him without knowing what he was about to say would have been something Lexie would have regretted.

"I thought, since I'm treating you, I'd pack your things. This trip is to de-stress you, so it starts here."

The smile on Mark's face almost glistened. How anyone could resist Mark Sloan was inconceivable to Lexie. That didn't mean she didn't like women being able to resist him, for he was hers and hers alone. A slight smile crept across her face, and she reached for his hand, prompting him towards the elevator.

"As long as the de-stressing continues when we get home, that's good with me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, I've written this chapter without the aid of painkillers, and I'm not sure if it's better or worse for it... However the story feels like it's getting somewhere now, so I might try a Mark chapter next to mix it up a bit :)**

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Waiting. Everyone here had to do it, and everyone here had a reason that they should be exempt from it, however valid it may be. The family in front of Lexie and Mark thought that it was incredibly rude manners of everyone to not let them check in so they could have room to tend to their screaming twin girls - Lexie privately agreed with them, if only for her own sanity. The man in the expensive suit behind her apparently needed to get through check in and customs to be able to join a very important conference call. As for Lexie, she'd been promised a weekend with no stress by Mark, and although it wasn't his fault, the waiting wasn't helping to de-stress her at all. Lexie made a mental note of this; Mark was going to have to seriously make up for the increasing pain the people around her were causing. She didn't mind waiting, as long as he delivered, which if her memories were correct, he would. And he would make a pretty good job of it too.

It took Lexie a moment to realise the queue was moving, slowly but surely, and Mark had left her standing about a yard behind. She made a swift but, she hoped, subtle step forward; all she needed was for Mark to laugh at her right now. He wasn't exactly quiet when he laughed, and all Lexie wanted was everyone's eyes on her. She didn't do well under those situations, despite having been class valedictorian and prom queen at high school. She wasn't used to humiliation, and hadn't liked what experiences she'd had with it, most of them having been in front of patients at the hospital.

Mark glanced at her, acknowledging that she'd moved but not commenting, possibly to keep his promise of a no stress weekend. He handed Lexie her passport, his fingers lingering on her hand for a moment, eyes refusing to lose contact, making her want to move close to him, have his arms tightly around her. She had to breathe deep, she wasn't usually the type for public displays of affection, having always believed it was more special when it was more private, and she was not going to change that in the middle of an airport.

When it was finally time for them to check in, Mark did all the talking. Not a big step towards being de-stressed, but it saved her from answering the most annoying questions (like "are you sure that you are Mr Sloan?", "did you definitely pack that bag?" and "have you measured the bag sizes? It looks too big…"). They were the most infuriating questions Lexie had ever heard, prompting her to want resort to sarcasm ("Yes. My bag is one millimetre over-sized."), despite being one of the least sarcastic people she knew. That was no huge feat. Most of the people she knew were doctors, and the dictionary definition of doctors, in Lexie's opinion should include "often sarcastic". She'd found that out during her internship, often being, like so many other interns, on the receiving end of the sarcasm.

So it was a huge relief when, half an hour later, Lexie and Mark sat in a small coffee shop in the airport, having battled through check in and customs. Mark had the waitress bring over a bone dry cappuccino for himself and a vanilla latte for Lexie, before giving Lexie his mischievous grin, the one he wore before revealing he had arranged a place for Joey to stay, if it was done a little last minute. It made Lexie slightly too paranoid.

"What's that smile for? Mark… what have you planned?"

As the smile on his face grew, Lexie's paranoia deepened. She liked to be in control, and this was one situation she didn't control. Mark could be planning any number of reckless things, such as family meetings, bungee jumping, or (and Lexie might have blushed a little for being so stereotypically lovey-dovey and girly) a marriage.

"Oh God… You're not… No. You can't be…"

"You know, I would love to settle your nerves, love, but I really have no idea as to what you are talking about."

Mark paused to incline his head at the waitress. Before they were together, Lexie would have bet $50 that Mark would have her leave her shift to find some closet of some kind. Now, he looked almost respectful when dealing with women. Lexie felt a kind of self pride in her man-taming skills, but couldn't allow it to grow. Not until everything was explained to her. Mark sipped his cappuccino, before returning to his explanation.

"You must be wondering why we are going to New York. Well, you know I said you will be de-stressed?" He didn't pause for an answer from Lexie in any form, word or body language. "Well, I've booked you and me a spa weekend. I knew of this great little spa a few years ago that Derek used to treat Addie to for their wedding anniversaries. So you are going to be pampered and get the rest you deserve too. Think of it as a gift from me and Joey."

Lexie couldn't help but let a smile shine on her face, something which pleased Mark. She could have known that without seeing his face, the warmth spread through his fingers when they linked through hers said it all. It spread right through her skin, and through her veins to her heart. She couldn't help but chuckle when she thought of what Joey's reaction to this scene would have been (an "ergh!" and maybe a "gross!" too). As much as she cherished uninterrupted moments with Mark, she couldn't help but miss Joey.

It was this warmth from Mark which was to get Lexie through the horrific flight, where the child behind her insisted on kicking her seat all the way to New York, and through the taxi ride in the cab which smelt like stale cigarettes and scotch, reminding her of the days where her father was drinking way too much. The days after her mother's death.

However, it wasn't enough to get her through who she saw in the entrance hall of the spa. A perky, blonde woman came almost bouncing towards them, with such enthusiasm that Lexie believed her to be a spa worker with serious job satisfaction. Maybe the free treatments did her good? But they couldn't have been good enough to make her hug clients surely?

Lexie took a second look at the woman who'd forced herself into Mark's arms and was immediately glad there wasn't a mirror in sight. She was sure her jaw had dropped more than was supposed to be physically possible.

"Sloane?..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Like I said, I thought I should try and give Mark a voice in this, partly because Lexie would, understandably, be too neurotic and messy to use her perspective for this, but also to try something a bit different. I hope it worked :)**

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Mark never usually took walks at night, but tonight it seemed the only logical thing to do. At least, being outside, he wouldn't mind the coldness. It was what he expected. But coldness in bed was something he'd never experienced before. He'd become used to the warmth of love when with Lexie. Even in his more promiscuous days, things had hardly been on the colder side. So the tension, the passive aggressiveness, the turned back; it was all foreign ground. If he hadn't have loved her, he would have taken his suitcase and all of his things on a one way walk away from the spa. His love for Lexie was the only thing that made his wandering a return trip.

The more he walked, the more the hurt was numbed. Mark liked how the cold bit at his cheeks as he walked, and how the icy feeling travelled through his veins, cooling every nerve in his body. Things began to make sense to him. He loved her, and nothing should come between them. It all seemed so simple, as things often do, in retrospect.

_He walked into the room, and felt her eyes glaring into his back as he locked the door.__ It had taken Mark longer that he would have liked to get Sloane to leave him alone, and he was going to pay for that. He had the feeling it was wise to pay extra for the soundproofed walls in the room, not that he bought them for this._

"_Lex… I didn't know…"_

_Mark wasn't sure what was worse, the cold glare or the silence. He'd never seen Lexie more than annoyed before, and this reaction from her scared him a little. Mark didn't do scared very often, and never over relationships. He had the feeling this would be a long night, so instead of undressing and sliding into bed under the silk sheet with his arms around Lexie, he simply sat next to her. She flinched when he went to hold her hand; if he wasn't scared before, Mark certainly was now._

"_Lexie, you need to understand, I would never have booked this place if I'd have known she was here. I booked it only because Derek said how Addie used to think the pampering was great here. I thought this would be perfect for you. Just what you deserve."_

_He got no response, except a look which could kill. She seemed to be thinking her choices through and, although in reality it was no longer than two minutes, it seemed like an eternity before she even responded._

"_Ok."_

"_Ok? What do you mean ok?"_

"_I mean ok, Mark. Ok, you didn't know she was here and was going to pounce on you like that. Ok."_

Mark's walk had lead him to the courtyard, a square garden which the walls of the spa were wrapped around. There were benches, some enclosed by trees, probably to give customers a welcome break from the sun when relaxing outside. It meant a lot to Mark, as a doctor that people were finally beginning to realise just how serious the prospect of skin cancer is. He sat, pondering this, whilst gazing at the water fountain. Water cascaded from around 10 foot high, down the levels, reflecting the stars in the sky above along its journey. It truly was a magnificent centrepiece. It was just a shame that Mark couldn't clear his mind enough to fully enjoy it.

The truth was that Mark had never done a serious relationship before now, before Lexie. He'd always assumed when the time was right he'd have a serious relationship and end up married and that would be that. And from the moment he began his relationship with Lexie, Mark knew she was the one for him. So he didn't know what to do. He couldn't get through to Callie, Derek or Hunt. He must've tried a hundred places around the spa, and none of them got him a signal. Mark needed advice, and being so cut off from everything and everyone made him feel vulnerable. It was probably why he let her do that.

_Lexie's tone cut through the air, tension building up like scar tissue after an operation, thicker and more delicate. Mark fought to hold back tears, and thanked God he had the strength at least to do that. He didn't, however, have the strength to look at Lexie. Her tone had been so full of contempt that simply looking at her would have had him breaking down into tears in a matter of moments. He had to wait a minute to make sure he wouldn't choke on his words before beginning to respond._

"_So…"_

_The air was filled with silence once again, as Mark realised he didn't know how he was going to continue his sentence. He didn't know what to say to the woman he loved but was being pushed away by. This was entirely new to him, so in his mind, Mark thought he couldn't be blamed for his lack of knowledge. He glimpsed Lexie out of the corner of his eye; he couldn't bear to look at he whilst her eyes were glistening with tears like that. She inhaled deeply before bringing herself to respond._

"_Mark… I think its best you stay in another room tonight. We should talk this through tomorrow over coffee. I don't want to argue with you, I just want to sort this out after we've both had time to think."_

_It was a moment before Lexie's words hit him, and when they did, Mark left the room in a daze, without a word of protest._


	5. Chapter 5

**This has been a hard chapter for me to write. I had a few ideas as to how this could be, but after a long think, I decided this would be the best way to deal with the Mark/Lexie fallout. I hope it worked.**

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Tracing the edge of the cup, Mark took in the scent of the coffee in front of him; strong, sharp enough to help wake him up. The foam covering the liquid gold was the purest white, how every cappuccino should be, and it tasted like he was in heaven. Well, as close to heaven as a cappuccino can take someone with a shattered soul and a broken heart. It took less than five minutes for him to finish the cup.

He paused for a moment, before signalling to the waitress that he would like two more cappuccinos. His watch read 10:28, she was due here any minute. After arriving early, in the hope that she might just do the same, he felt a pang of desperation, and a lot of shock. Since when did he, Mark Sloan, become desperate? He was so deep in thought over this that he didn't notice the noise his watch was making. The incessant beeps not only disturbed everyone in the bar, but also signalled the death of the Tag. Mark swore, as he ripped it from his wrist, and stuffed it into his pocket, making a mental note to get it repaired. He was so angry, he barely noticed her slip into the seat opposite him.

"Wow, I forgot how foul your mouth could be."

Mark looked over the table, into the eyes he recognised as home, the eyes he loved being lost in. They were tired; it looked as though she'd had no sleep at all last night. It reminded him of when she'd been an intern and they'd first fell for each other. Lexie, no matter how tired, had always been beautiful in his eyes.

"You didn't sleep last night then?" he made a subtle gesture towards her eyes. She shook her head at him, before thanking the waitress who'd set the cappuccino on the table in front of her. Mark too acknowledged the waitress, pausing before he continued.

"I didn't either."

"Oh…"

Mark gazed out of the window, letting himself feel the breeze gently engulfing him. It was better than the silence at any rate. After a few minutes, he couldn't take the silence any more.

"I've done nothing wrong."

Lexie looked startled, in a cute, rabbit in headlights kind of way. It might have been the lack of sleep she'd had, but in that moment, Mark couldn't have any excuses preventing him from explaining himself.

"I've done nothing to make you throw me out of the room last night. All I wanted to do was treat you to relaxation. I had no idea Sloane worked here, hell, I had no idea she worked at all."

That was true. Before she'd had the baby, Mark must've given her near enough $1,000 for "food". He'd found out it'd gone towards her wardrobe later. Mark didn't really mind, she was his daughter after all, he just wished she hadn't lied to him. That upset him, but not as much as this did. Mark snapped himself out of this self pity and hurt, before continuing.

"If I'd have known she was here, I would've settled for the spa back on the outskirts of Seattle. You know, the one we went to last year for your birthday. I wanted this to be special, so I booked it here, away from everything in our day to day lives."

Lexie looked over her hands, clasped together infront of her face. Her eyes showed a world full of hurt, and they seemed to be fighting off tears. That tore Mark apart inside. He wished she would talk to him, not hurt alone like they had both been doing for the past 12 hours, the longest 12 hours of his life. It seemed like his wishes hadn't amounted to nothing, because although it was reluctant, Lexie finally spoke, in a voice that was almost scarily teary.

"You promise you wouldn't have arranged to meet her Mark? Because I don't think I could take it if you lied to me. I couldn't take you lying to me, you saw that."

Mark reached for her hand.

"Of course I wouldn't lie."

There was a moment, where they sat, totally connected. Their fingers entwined, souls embraced, lost in each other's eyes. This connection seemed to reconcile them; to heal all that had hurt before. Neither of them had any awareness of the outside world as they realised just how they couldn't live without the other. They didn't notice the quiet beeping of the broken watch which irritated everyone else so much, didn't notice the slight vibrations of Lexie's phone as it diverted phone call after phone call to her answer phone. They almost didn't notice a chair being pulled up to their table before Sloane took a seat.

"Um, hi."

Sloane looked more uncomfortable than either Mark and Lexie had ever seen her, even after the time she walked in on them together. She glanced between Mark and Lexie, to see her father give her a slight nod, whereas Lexie refused to acknowledge Sloane's presence.

"So, um, I just want to say that I'm sorry for yesterday. I shouldn't have done that. I just, um, wasn't expecting to see you."

Sloane paused, expecting a reply. A moment's pause made it obvious she wasn't going to get one. She inhaled deeply before continuing.

"So, I finally got a job that I like enough to want to keep it, and now, because of yesterday, I lost it. My manager totally flipped at me, she said I was, um, unprofessional and that I need to, um, grow up. I guess she's kinda right. So I've been thinking."

Both Lexie and Mark gave her their full, undivided attention in that moment. It was a miracle Sloane even considered thinking, never mind growing up. They gave her a moment to let go of her childish, and sometimes selfish ways, it'd be hard for a girl like Sloane, so self-absorbed, to let go of them.

"I want to play a part in Joey's life."


	6. Chapter 6

"More clarity can be found in a single moment than in a person's entire life."

Lexie had read an article on it in the supplement magazine which came with her newspaper that morning. A group of psychiatrists had been analysing significant memories which were described by the volunteers, and the results had been fascinating. There was a link between clarity and events involving work, near-death experiences, friends, and of course, family. Apparently, the "larger" the event was considered to be, the more clarity there should be within the description, like a survivor of a kidnapping should hypothetically remember more detail than somebody who was, say, victim of purse-theft. However the board of psychiatry didn't want to accept these results, unless they could find more volunteers.

Lexie made a mental note to phone the board. Sloane had to be a prime candidate for the trial after this.

It was a little, no, extremely hard to process this. Just yesterday morning, her, Mark and Joey were the perfect family (well, as perfect as family gets). She was the one who held Joey close when the nightmares came; she was the one who put the Band-Aids on his knees when he'd fallen over. Lexie had been his mother; she couldn't give that up for Sloane. She might be Mark's daughter, but she may as well have been a perfect stranger. Joey had never even had a birthday or Christmas card from her.

A lump was forming in her throat as she began to panic. Lexie needed air; she needed to be away from this girl who wanted to snatch her life right out of her fingers. She grabbed her phone and purse, and excused herself for a moment. Her voice was high, one of the three signs of Lexie being upset. The other two were her breathing, which sped up, and her hands, which shook uncontrollably.

Lexie sat down on one of the benches in the courtyard of the spa, sat in the shade of a blossom tree. A soft breeze blew over her, helping her to calm down a little. So much for a weekend with no stress. She needed a distraction, so she took her phone and dialled the number she knew off by heart. Lexie found it comforting that she could reach Joey so easily. She was so grateful that Callie had been able to look after him for the weekend. Lexie might have hated Mark's ex-sex-partner-but-current-best-friend living across the hall from Mark at first, but she felt anything except hate now.

The ringing tone was almost comforting to Lexie, she knew she was just a second away from being home with Joey, if only verbally. She could hardly fight off the smile that began creeping onto her face as the idea of being at home with Joey occurred. The smile had totally taken control by the time the phone was answered.

"This is Auntie Callie and Auntie Zona's erm… House. But it's not really a house; I learnt it's called an apart-ment at school." The pride in Joey's voice at learning this made tears of pride well up in Lexie's eyes. How could she be expected to give this away to someone who had never cared once for the boy?

"Hey Joey. I hope you're behaving."

Lexie had to smile at his response. The excitement he held in his voice was one that only a child could get away with, and who could do anything but smile at a child who actually jumps with happiness to hear their voice?

"Oh Auntie LEXIE! I miss you so much it's more than the amount it is to the stars and back!"

"I've missed you too honey. You need to save me some hugs for when I'm home, ok?"

There was a pause. It was quite strange for Joey to keep quiet for this long, especially when he was this excited.

"Oh, Auntie Lex… I kind of… might of… given Auntie Callie your hugs… I'm so sorry."

The sadness in his voice was genuine; Joey was too young to understand quite how jokes like this work. It was touching that he felt like this, but it was also too much for Lexie. She fumbled in her purse for a tissue, and was only a fraction of a second too late. A few tears had already escaped from her eyes. Mopping them up, she tried to compose herself. She couldn't have him worrying over her.

"That's ok, I'll just have to have super-hugs."

Lexie thanked the heavens her and Mark had came up with super-hugs, to make Joey feel like the superheroes he idolised. They were a special treat for him when he behaved, and he loved them.

"Yeah! I can't wait Auntie Lexie!"

"Me either," Lexie smiled, "now, Joey, is Auntie Callie around?"

"Erm," Joey paused, not wanting to give the wrong answer. It sounded like he was taking the wireless to look around the apartment. Lexie only hoped he knocked before walking into the bathroom. That was one mistake she'd made, and Joey certainly didn't need to make that mistake too.

"Auntie Lexie, I've found her. She's being best friends with the Auntie Callie in the mirror. Auntie Zona will be angry that she's lost you to you, Auntie Callie…"

He continued to taunt Callie, before remembering Lexie was on the other end of the phone.

"So Auntie Callie wants the phone. Bye Auntie Lexie."

"Bye Joey. Love you."

There was the awkward background noise as the phone was passed over. Lexie thought she heard the words "couch", "blender" and "chicken", and could only imagine what games Joey had tried concocting. He'd always had a good imagination. Of course most children have good imaginations, but Joey's just seemed to go that little bit further to be great, if not slightly worrying.

"Hey Lex, how're you?"

Callie had finally finished giving Joey instructions. Lexie was worried by this; Callie only ever gave rambling instructions when something had either really annoyed her, or someone had done something really wrong. Either way, it had been Joey who'd done this.

"I'm erm… alright. I have some stuff to tell you, but I want to know how you are first. How's Joey been?"

"Well, he has an… Active imagination. And I'm good thanks, I'm really liking having Joey around. I'd have him more often if it wasn't for Arizona."

Arizona Robbins: famous for being the paediatric surgeon who never wanted kids. It was thought to be almost unheard of, and Lexie always thought anyone who could do that job but never have kids would be a vile person. But Arizona wasn't. She was one of the happiest, perkiest people going, and everybody loved her at the hospital. Lexie thought it showed just how wrong anyone's assumptions can be.

"She's ok with having Joey? You did check with her first, right?" Lexie began to worry a little; her moral compass couldn't cope with annoying such a lovely person.

"Of course I did, I just don't think she expected the wake-up call we got this morning. I have to say, being jumped on is effective, even if it bruises."

"Yeah… Guess I should have warned you about that."

"You think?" Callie's voice was heavily laced with annoyance, the kind of annoyance that she only had when Arizona made her cut down her coffee intake. Arizona must have strategically missed the aisle with the coffee when shopping this week.

"Mm, yeah. So I need some advice."

"Ok…"

Callie sounded distant, maybe Joey wasn't lying when he said Callie was now best friends with her reflection. It made Lexie wonder why she was being so vain, it wasn't normally a trait of Callie's. Lexie let a string of "maybes" run through her mind before deciding that her news was more important. Sloane's revelation affected not just her and Mark after all. She took a deep breath to prepare herself, then told Callie everything. The hug, the argument, the coffee, the shock.

And Callie was a good listener, she asked questions in the right places, gasped where appropriate. Lexie could get used to this concept of being listened to. The boys weren't usually quiet for long enough to be heard at home.

But Callie's listening wasn't the only reason she was the right person to call. She also said the right seven little words Lexie needed to hear.

"I know just what you should do."


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I know this has been a work in progress for far too long, due to my need to pass exams and earn my place at university, I just hope I've managed to get the story in a position so that the end I always wanted for this fanfiction is in sight. Hope you enjoy.

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"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's"

Lexie had used this for her last campaign for class president, and it was shockingly successful. Somehow the idea of rebelling against the system was popular with all of her classmates, no matter where in the social hierarchy they were. It was certainly unexpected at the time, but looking back, Lexie knew that her win was not down to a mystery: it was down to rabid teenage hormones causing the anger to run through the veins of the school.

Although she was not having a fond trip down memory lane, this was the only thought running through her head as Lexie came off the phone. Everything seemed to be so much easier to her now. She might've even considered the solution to be simple if the whole situation hadn't thrown her so off course. It took a few moments to contain her aura of relief, for Lexie felt going back to sit with Mark and Sloane feeling complacent would be considered impolite in about fifty different ways. Besides, being able to take someone off their pedestal had always appealed more to Lexie if that person was completely unsuspecting.

Lexie's first instinct was to go and lock Mark in a deep embrace. Inside, she felt elated, her heart doing back flips with the joy and she hated having to hide this. Lexie had always been encouraged to wear her heart on her sleeves; it was something her mother had firmly believed in, possibly because of her love for the classic romanticism movements. She'd grown up with Susan reading Byron, Shelley and Poe, but Lexie's favourite had always been William Blake. It was, in fact, Blake who had first came up with the quote that had won her the final election for class president. It was going to be Blake and his quote that would help her stop Sloane taking Joey away.

Walking back over to where Mark and Sloane were sat, Lexie tried to carry herself with an air of nonchalance. Her eyes, however, could have given her away; she frantically scanned the table and the faces of the two people she was to sit down with. From what she could tell, they'd sat in awkwardness in her absence. That was the only way to explain the mass of empty cappuccino cups in front of Mark and the sour look on Sloane's face. Lexie would have laughed at Sloane, if it wasn't for the fact that she was scared at just how little Sloane had changed from when they'd first met. Apparently growing up was an alien concept to the girl sat to her left.

Lexie got the attention of the waitress and ordered a vanilla latte. As much as she loved Mark being able to order coffee for her, she wished that just once he'd swallow his male pride and order a "girl coffee" for her. After all, she _was_ female, and it wasn't like he had to drink her drink. Once she'd ordered, she turned her attention to Mark and Sloane.

"So… you've drank a lot of coffee."

Mark inclined his head, his eyes fixed on the half full cappuccino sat in front of him. He seemed to hesitate before speaking, which made Lexie a little paranoid. Just what had been said whilst she was outside?

"Well, it is good coffee, has a kick to it. And they know how to make it bone dry too."

Bone-dry cappuccino had been the only coffee Lexie had ever known Mark to drink. He wouldn't even touch an Americano if there was no cappuccino on the cart at the hospital. That was part of her attraction to him, he knew what he wanted and never settled for less. And in the moment it took them to gain eye contact, she knew this was what he wanted too.

"So, Sloane… You want to see Joey?"

The shock from both Sloane and her father made Lexie's heart skip a beat. Maybe she was wrong to go through with Callie's plan. Maybe it was cruel to everyone involved.

Or maybe, just maybe it was the most genius idea to ever have come out of Calliope Torres' brain. All the pieces fitted together, and if it was true that Sloane really was the female, teenage Peter Pan of modern America, there was no way that it could fail.

Sloanes slow nod, almost giving her away as being unsure of her decision, confirmed that the plan was the best thing since sliced bread. It was fool-proofed, indestructible; Sloane just wouldn't be able to find a way around it.

"Well then, why don't you come and stay with us for a week? You know, just to see how it goes?"

Sloane's eyes lit up, hope flowing through her veins, happiness burning through her soul. Lexie felt terrible, but couldn't show it. Sloane would only suspect Lexie of what she had a right to suspect her of, trying to keep her from taking Joey away.

But it wasn't just Sloane who made Lexie feel terrible. Right there, in that moment, she thought she saw a flicker of hatred in Mark's eyes.

Lexie wasn't what you'd call a strict religious girl, but she found herself clutching at straws, praying to every God she could recall the name of, praying that this plan was as fool-proof as it seemed.


	8. Chapter 8

**This isn't the complete ending to this, but since this has taken a lot longer than I expected to get this far, I thought I should upload what I have already. I think the formatting of this was hardest, as I originally wrote this in diary form but didn't really like it to be honest... Oh well, I hope this is enough until the last of it is typed up.**

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The alarm clock's display had claimed it was 3:34 for some time now. It was the kind of alarm clock with the LCD lights installed, in what might be considered a rather hideous green if the colour was to be used for décor or maybe even clothing. But for an alarm clock it was perfect. It was visible from almost any reasonable point in the room and was something which didn't relax your eyes, stopping you from hitting "snooze" before turning over and drifting off again. However, that was something Lexie was beginning to find an issue.

She hadn't slept for the past four days; the anxiety had seemed to grow every minute within her body until she was at breaking point. She'd had to escape from it all in the middle of the previous night, feeling a need to burn the midnight oil. She'd planned on talking it through with Callie, who had always seemed to be calmer in times of stress than Lexie ever was. That plan, however, didn't work, as she ended up walking in on Callie and Arizona burning their own midnight oils so to speak. First the bathroom, then the bedroom – Lexie was getting close to having seen things she'd rather not have done in the whole of Callie's apartment.

Instead of returning to her bed, to the cold hostility of Mark, Lexie turned towards the steps, which she ran down two at a time. She didn't stop running until she reached the corner of her block, at which time her heart was hammering away in her chest. All the raw emotion she'd felt but had to bottle up since inviting Sloane to stay were pouring throughout her body; anger seeping into her cells, the regret flowing through her veins. It was this that kept her going, despite the build up of lactic acid within her muscles. Since high school biology, Lexie had been taught that anaerobic respiration was not good for the body. A lack of oxygen would, over time kill the body. It was this, however, that kept Lexie motivated. She crossed the road, and then continued her run which had no clear aim or goal except getting her as far away from the flat, and from Sloane, as possible.

The lactic acid built up the numbness she needed to deal with the thoughts, the memories from the last four days that flew through her mind, as if on a never ending movie reel. The arguments, the passive aggressive comment, the confused and hurt look on little Joey's face, with the latter angering her more than anything else.

_When she opened the door to Callie's flat, she barely had time to acknowledge anyone before Joey bounded into her arms, beginning the super hug he'd promised Lexie. His eyes sparkled as he told her just how much he'd missed her, and what Auntie Callie and Auntie Zona had done with him. She was far too overjoyed at seeing him to move from the doorway, or to even notice Arizona offer her a cup of coffee._

"_Now that's not nice to not listen to Auntie Zona like that," Joey reprimanded her, whilst playfully tapping her arm, "especially not as she even went and got the coffee that Auntie Callie isn't really allowed a lot of."_

_Lexie had to snap herself out of her dazed state, it was true that Arizona was offering her coffee, and it looked like she was even getting one of their cups they used for really special occasions, which was a rarity. Lexie apologised before accepting the coffee, and moving to sit on the armchair, positioned at a right angle to the sofa where Callie was sat. Lexie waited for Arizona to join them before taking a sip of her coffee. She could tell why Arizona had rationed it, this was the strong stuff. Good, but far too strong to drink on a daily basis._

"_So, he's been good?"_

"_Oh, no trouble at all," Callie beamed, with Arizona looking less enthusiastic. Lexie had to smile to herself, as she swore she heard Arizona murmur something about "rude awakenings"._

"_Good, I'll have to get you a treat then," Lexie hugged Joey that tiny bit tighter, "How about that new superhero set you were looking at in the mall?" Joey's only response was an incredibly toothy grin, the kind only a child can pull off with their innocent charm. It warmed Lexie inside and out. She turned to Callie and Arizona, thanking them again, which they brushed off easily. They seemed to both wear looks of relief on their faces when there was a knock at the door, interrupting Lexie's incessant thanks._

_The face behind the doors was none other than Sloane's. That was when the fall out had started._

Lexie had come across an all night café before considering ending her run for a while. The smell of coffee was almost intoxicating, and she hadn't realised just how hungry she was beginning to feel. Taking a seat in a little alcove, Lexie caught her breath just enough to manage her order for buttered toast and a large coffee. Although she had already ordered, her eyes returned to the menu, just for something to concentrate on.

Scanning the lunchtime menu, other parts of the last week came rushing through her mind. At each of these times, Lexie had thought things couldn't be worse, but looking back, the week had kept a certain consistency that some people would be proud of. There was no high or low point of the week, only a sense of melancholy which was always present. Even work hadn't provided an escape for her. The safeness which she loved about the hospital just wasn't there anymore, not as everybody seemed to have an increasing interest in Sloane and what was going to happen with Joey. Even Cristina had worn a look of concern one lunch hour. Lexie hadn't been sure what was more disturbing; Meredith's news, or Cristina seeming to be worried for her.

_The moment Lexie put her lunch tray down on the table, silence engulfed the people sitting there. Meredith wore a half-guilty look on her face, whilst avoiding eye contact with anyone on the table. Cristina's facial expression was part way between concerned and strained, as she flashed an almost sympathetic smile in Lexie's direction._

"_Ok, your smile is just scary," Lexie pointed at Cristina after seating herself, "the last time you had a smile like that, you had to tell Owen that his favourite shirt had been ruined. So what's going on?"_

_There was a look exchanged between her sister and her sister's best friend, as if to try and decide how to break some news to Lexie. They did their silent conversation thing, which had become quite extensive over the years that they'd known each other. It was now somehow good enough to get them through a good ten minutes worth of conversation, and easily good enough to provoke anger in just about anyone sat with them when they were silently talking. Lexie was just reaching frustration, with the spearing of her salad getting steadily more violent, before Meredith turned to her._

"_Lex… I don't know how to tell you this… You're not going to like it, but… Well, Sloane has been seen around the hospital today."_

"_Who saw… What?" Lexie's words came out a little muffled, due to the abundance of lettuce she'd just put into her mouth._

"_She was here. She wanted… She thought..."_

_Meredith's non-stop rambling was beginning to annoy both Lexie and Cristina. Lexie gave her her most threatening, and quite creepy, judgemental look, whilst Cristina opted for her more violent elbow nudges. Lexie had been on the receiving end of a few of them, and her elbow was deceivingly pointed._

"_Ok!" Meredith was beginning to sound mildly exasperated, either uneasy because of the look or the nudge. Nobody would ever have predicted that Lexie and Cristina could make such a good team outside of work circumstances back when Lexie was Cristina's intern. Meredith took a sip of her drink before continuing._

"_Well, Sloane was seen near the nursery. Apparently she wanted to see Joey."_

_That confused Lexie. How could Sloane not have known that Joey was in Kindergarten? There were the school letters on the fridge, as well as the school artwork in the frames around the apartment. Surely she would have noticed something?_

_Meredith noticed Lexie's internal conversation and doubt almost instantly, and didn't hesitate to continue._

"_Derek saw her before she went in there. He told her that Joey was in school. She seemed disappointed, but there wasn't a lot she could do. Apparently she mentioned something about needing some new clothes, and just left after that."_

_Although surprised at the idea that Sloane could need more clothes (she'd brought two full suitcases just for staying the week), Lexie couldn't get the idea Sloane being here, in the hospital, out of her head. It would mean she would have unsupervised time with him. Whatever happened, Mark couldn't find out about this._

As it happened, Mark did find out about it. Apparently men could be as loyal as women to their closest friends.


End file.
